poco a poco
by Horuri
Summary: Little by little secrets unsurface, feelings are realized, and friendships are confirmed. Duo's got a serious problem he doesn't want anyone elase to know. Weird genres to stick together, but will make sense when you read.
1. Intro

Just wanted to say a few things. I haven't written anything in forever, so please forgive me if this fic sucks. This isn't a romance yet so I'm not concerning myself with pairings, but one will most likely be Duo and Hilde. This is set 8 months or so after Endless Waltz. Here I go...  
  
********  
  
*blip,blip,blip*  
  
(groan) "Who's calling now?"  
  
*blip,blip,blip*  
  
(sigh) *beep* "Sheila, unless it is urgent I'm too busy to take this at the moment." *click*  
  
*beep* "I'm sorry Mr. Winner, I know. But they assured me it was a pressing matter." *click*  
  
*beep* "And who are they?" *click*  
  
*beep* "A miss Hilde Shbeiker Sir." *click*  
  
"Hilde? In that case... "  
  
*Beep* "Thank you Sheila. Open the vidlink in my study please."  
  
*beep* "Yes Sir." *click*  
  
********  
  
"I hope he doesn't mind me calling. Wait, that's stupid. It's Quatre! And he puts up with Duo's nonsense all the time. I still feel funny about calling, though. Maybe I should hang up... Ugh! No, that's rude! I hope he answers soon, I don't want Duo coming back. Ooh, that stuborn little... I wish I could wrap that braid around his neck and force him to-"  
  
*Zzzt*  
  
"Hello? Hilde is it really you?"   
  
"Hi, Quatre. Yes, it's really me."  
  
"Hi! I'm so glad you called. I love to hear from you two. How are you?"  
  
"I'm OK. It's Duo who's not."  
  
"Is everything all right? He's not hurt, is he?"  
  
"I don't think so."  
  
"Huh? You don't know?"  
  
"Well that's what's wrong. He won't tell. He's hardly speaking to me, and when I ask him why, he avoids answering by suddenly remembering something he hasn't done or finding something new to do. He's shut me out and surrounds himself with work. I'm worried about him, Quatre. He's not himself."  
  
"Duo not speaking is serious. Do you have any idea why?"  
  
"No, everything's normal, but we are pretty busy nowadays."   
  
"Hmmm."  
  
"One day he just stopped communicating. It's like he's trying to avoid me. Things are strange, we're usually such good friends..."  
  
"Hilde?"  
  
"..."  
  
"Hilde, what are you thinking?"  
  
"... that maybe I'm what's wrong."  
  
"That's ridiculous."  
  
"No! It's not. It must be something I did. Why else wouldn't he tell me?"  
  
"I'm sure there are reasons. Ones that don't involve you."  
  
"I'm just so frustrated! Things were going so well with the scrapyard. With us. Quatre, I need you to help me."  
  
"What do you want me to do?"  
  
"Could you invite Duo to stay with you for a while? He needs to get out of here, away from the stress. I think he might be overworking himself. I'm also hoping he'll open up to you. You have that effect on people. But of course, you're probably busy..."  
  
"Nonsense, I'm never too busy for my friends. I'll have him up anytime you need."  
  
"Thank you so much."  
  
"I'll do what I can. If something is seriously wrong we need to find out. It can't be easy for him to keep this inside."  
  
"Maybe it's just me imagining things. Some kind of post-war anxiety disorder."  
  
"We all worry, but the Weapon Elimination Act will be passed soon. The talks went very well. I think people are finally ready to live in a world without wars."  
  
(sigh) "I'm so glad."  
  
"I'm sure there won't be a need for him to fight anymore."  
  
"I know, but I-"  
  
*Crash*  
  
"Oh! Quatre, he's back!"  
  
"I'll call back later and give the invitation. Next week good?"  
  
"Yes, that's fine. I gotta go. Quatre, you're wonderful."  
  
"Well, I.."  
  
*Zzzt*   
  
********  
  
When I came in, she wasn't where I could see her, but I could hear her voice floating out of the den. Or really, the little corner of the kitchen she's named "the den" because I constantly use that end of the table to answer calls and do paperwork. I figured she must of been on the phone, unless she's started talking to herself. Wouldn't suprise me in the least. I couldn't understand what was being said, but didn't really care. Actually I didn't want to see her at all at that moment. She'd want to talk about me some more. That's where our conversations gravitate lately. Duo, are you feeling OK? Duo, are you mad at me? Duo, what's wrong?   
  
I would have avoided her if possible, but her in the kitchen and me with groceries made that kinda hard. I had hoped that she'd be too busy on the phone to try and speak to me, but that hope was quickly squashed. I heard the sound of the vidphone powering off. There was no turning back.   
  
I was sure she'd heard me come in after that ruckus I'd made fumbling with the back door. Get this, I had been trying to balance a bag of groceries on top of my knee while opening it. Who was I kidding? I'm no acrobat!  
Instead, I ended up falling through and scattering stuff everywhere. Yeah, so I'd say it's pretty damn impossible that she didn't hear me. I wouldn't have tried that little stunt if I wasn't so eager to NOT to talk to her, and ringing the bell would have brought her to the door.  
  
So, feeling a little foolish and very clumsy, I made my way to the kitchen. I took a deep breath and prepared myself for a military style interrogation.  
  
********  
  
  
Well there we are. I'm experimenting with different POV's.  
Tell me what you think works! That whole beep, click thing got kinda old, didn't it. I think it's funny. Review! I need reviews to survive! 


	2. Chapter 1

Oops, I forgot the disclaimer for the intro. Well, I don't own Gundam Wing. Big suprise I know.   
  
I have a rough idea of where this is going now. Don't worry the other pilots will show up in later chapters.  
  
  
  
  
"I come bearing gifts of pickles," I announced, waltzing into the kitchen. "And oranges and crackers and pudding and Twinkies-"  
  
"Pudding and twinkies?" Hilde asked, her eyebrows arched and with slight annoyance in her voice. "I don't remember putting those on the list."  
  
"That's because you didn't," I retorted, while tossing a pudding snack at her. I turned to rumage through another of the bags. "I took it upon myself to add a few necessities."  
  
"And Skittles are a neccessity?" she questioned, eyeing the red bag I pulled from underneath the bread and started to open.   
  
"Of course!"   
  
"Uh huh." She rolled her eyes.  
  
"..."  
  
  
A few awkward moments passed - a sign things were starting to turn serious. The warning bells in my head started going off, and I quickly thought up a way out.   
  
"Um, I guess I'll go look for that WD8 form for that Richmond guy." That sounded so lame. But hey, if it aided my escape, so what. I turned and started to leave, popping a few colorful candies into my mouth.  
  
"Already took care of it."  
  
I halted my retreat. "You did?"  
  
"Yup."   
  
I turned around. She was carefully opening her pudding snack. Not looking at me.   
  
"Then I'll see to that invertor for Mr. Diggs. He'll probably want it sooner then he said. And ya know how he gets." I started to shuffle out of the kitchen backwards.  
  
"All done." She said casually as she got up and crossed in front of me   
to the silverware drawer.  
  
"What?"  
  
"All done. I shipped it out this morning." She pulled out a spoon and started poking at her puddding.  
  
She was up to something. She still wasn't looking at me. "Ok..."  
  
"There isn't any work to do right now, Duo." She looked up. "I took care of it all."  
  
Was she doing this for fun? Did she enjoy watching me squirm? She had me trapped and she knew it.  
  
"Sit down and have some pudding with me." She wanted to talk things out. Her eyes were sad. She was asking, not ordering.  
  
"I'm not hungry," I grumbled, kicking the cabinets with the side of my boot. I was starting to feel like a jerk for treating her like that, but...  
  
"Please?"   
  
Crap, then I really felt like a jerk.  
  
"Later," I spit out, sounding more bitter then I had meant to. I spun around and marched away. I didn't want to look at those sad eyes anymore. I didn't want to answer any questions. I just wanted to be alone.  
  
********  
  
*blip,blip,blip*  
  
*Zzzt*  
  
"H n' D's Salvage, Hilde Shbeiker here."  
  
"Hello, Hilde."  
  
"Oh, hi again, Quatre."  
  
"Is Duo around?"  
  
"He's upstairs."  
  
"You all right? You sound tired."  
  
"No, not tired. Just a little depressed."  
  
"Duo again."  
  
"Yeah, but don't worry about it. I'll go get him."  
  
"You sure you're OK?"  
  
"No. But, really, don't worry. This will help. I'll go yell at him now."  
  
"Take it easy, Hilde. All right?"  
  
"Yeah, I will. Thanks."  
  
*stomp,stomp*  
  
"Duo! Phone!"  
  
********  
  
Boy, is she loud. I could hear her yell from outside my bedroom and over my music. After the kitchen confrontation, I stormed upstairs, flopped onto my bed and turned on the radio, doing all very loudly. I didn't feel tired but tried closing my eyes anyway. I stayed there, eyes closed, for only a few minutes I thought. Maybe I did doze off, even with the pounding volume of the songs from my favorite metal station. Course, being in a bad mood can take a lot out of ya.  
  
"Who is it?" I yelled back without opening my eyes.  
  
"Quatre!"  
  
That got my attention.  
  
"Coming!"  
  
********  
  
"Hey there, Q-tip. How's it hangin'?"  
  
"Um, it's been hanging just fine, thanks. And don't call me Q-tip."  
  
He's so much fun to tease.  
  
"Hehe, what's going on?"  
  
"Nothing at all. That's what."  
  
"Sorry, wanna run that by me again."  
  
"I mean that I'm finally getting a chance to relax. An unschedualed vacation of sorts, and a very much appreciated one."  
  
"Good for you, I'm glad for ya, man. You've been one busy little multi-billionaire corporate head." That was certainly true. He had been continually in the news.  
  
"Yes. That's why I want you to come visit and help me make this vacation count. There's only so much fun to be had on your own."  
  
Aw, man, he wanted me to visit? Normally I'd be all for seeing Quatre, but then, I was not in the mood for companions. If I couldn't hide this from Hilde, then there was no way in hell I could keep it from him. He'd see straight through any charade or excuse. But how could I turn him down?  
No way I was gonnna tell the truth, and Duo Maxwell doesn't tell a lie, so...  
  
"Well Quatre, you know I want to..."  
  
That wasn't a lie. Not really.  
  
"...but it's kinda hectic around here right now. Everyone's selling in light of the weapons act, you know."  
  
His face fell.  
  
"Oh?"  
  
Aw, man. I did want to go see Quatre.  
  
"Yeah, I guess they want to get rid of this stuff before it gets complicated. Some of them wouldn't be able to go through the legalities, too much hassle. Otherwise, I'd-"  
  
"Duo Maxwell, I'm not letting you pass on this."  
  
Gah! When did she come in?  
  
"I think I can manage without you making messes and getting in my way for a few days."  
  
Ouch, what a time for her to get her sense of humor back.  
  
"Were you eavesdropping?"  
  
"Of course not!"  
  
"Uh huh."  
  
Quatre snickered from his side of the link.  
  
"Ok, so maybe I was doing a little recognizance, but that's not the point!"  
  
She took a moment to glare at me before continuing.  
  
"The point is that you're not needed here 24/7."  
  
She swiftly turned and strolled out while tossing off a few last words.  
  
"And I'm not letting you stay."  
  
"It's someone's time of the month," I said, more to myself, but loud enough I'm sure Quatre heard.  
  
"Anyway..." He sighed. "Then?"  
  
Grr, Hilde.  
  
"Then absolutely, I'll come." Then as a afterthought, I added. "And not just because Hilde's making me." Was that a lie? This was gonna suck.  
  
"Spiffy!"  
  
"Spiffy?"  
  
"What? I can't use informal language?"  
  
"No. No, you can't."   
  
He frowned and pretended to pout.  
  
"That's not very fair..."   
  
"We can work on that when I get up there."   
  
"Great, I'll expect you on the 10:30 shuttle, Monday."  
  
"Should've known you'd already taken care of the travel plans."  
  
"That's right. You should have, and I've already made some other plans. Have you ever been to a concert?"  
  
Ok, gotta be nice. He's trying.  
  
"Of course I've been to a concert. They have new bands in every Friday at the Iron Bar-"  
  
"Wait. Sorry, I should have specified. I meant with an orchestra."  
  
Ha! Did he mean classical stuff?  
  
"Oh. No, haven't been to one of those." I tried to sound interested.  
  
"Good, then it will be something new, and none of this picking out a date business." He made a face.  
  
"Wait, you're saying you get to pick out your dates? Like a buffet?  
  
"No! not like a buffet... well not exactly."  
  
"And you don't like it?"  
  
"You wouldn't either after a while."  
  
"I dunno..." I switched to daydream mode.   
  
"My sisters are always shoving girls at me. They want me to have some part of a normal life, I guess. Their hearts are in the right place, but there's only so much a guy can take. I'm not a machine!"  
  
"You amaze me, man. Of all the things you could possibly complain about-"  
  
"Be quiet and just show up on Monday."  
  
"Heehee, yes sir, ladies man."  
  
He tossed his head back and threw his arms up in the air, muttering something about Allah while powering off.  
  
******** 


End file.
